Page 198 - Hand rearing birds second

184 Hand-Rearing Birds

While human intervention in wild flamingo colonies is rarely needed, in 2000, a jaguar ran
through a flamingo colony in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, Mexico, disrupting the breeding and
causing the abandonment of over 1000 American Flamingo eggs and an estimated 400 chicks.
Caretakers, including professionals from SeaWorld and other Association of Zoos and Aquariums
(AZA) organizations, assisted in hand‐rearing chicks at Xcaret and Rio Lagartos with many ulti-
mately released back into the Yucatan wetlands.
Environmental conditions influencing water levels and breeding conditions for Lesser Flamingos
resulted in thousands of adults abandoning eggs and chicks at Kamfers Dam in Kimberley, South
Africa in January, 2019. Thousands of chicks were rescued with the best of intentions but without
preplanning, resources, or onsite experience to support the rescue. Ultimately, a vast array of
stakeholders became involved in the care of the chicks: NGOs; wildlife rehabilitation centers and
veterinary hospitals; private facilities; the Kimberley community and SPCA; zoological facilities
within Africa and supporting organizations from around the world; along with different layers of
South African governmental oversight. Although many chicks were in extremely poor condition at
rescue, several hundred were successfully released; outcomes and post‐release survival of rescued
and rehabilitated chicks remains a work in progress at the time of writing. This immense collabo-
ration to save thousands of birds increased awareness about the species and the massive resources
necessary to rescue flamingo chicks. Scientists, rehabilitators, and zoo professionals continue to
gather intellectual data to document the lessons learned and to improve best practices.

Captive­Breeding
Flamingos are wary of intrusion into nesting areas, but in zoological settings hands‐on manage-
ment is usually necessary and can be done safely with the appropriate protocols. Abandoned eggs
and compromised chicks may need to be removed for care. Colony and mound management, coor-
dination and planning reduce the interruption of the colony and improve parent‐rearing opportu-
nities, reducing the need to hand‐rear birds.
Flamingos synchronize breeding as a colony, but hatching may occur over 2 to 3 months. Birds
require leg banding for identification to track the sire and dam of chicks. Identifying mounds only
may result in errors because of the changing colony dynamics throughout the nesting season.
SeaWorld California (SWC) has routinely entered the flamingo breeding site since the early 1990s
and performed maintenance and chick checks. The colony habituated to intervention over time
and the birds now defend the sites and do not leave the mounds mid‐season. At the end of the
season when only a few pairs remain at the site, the birds may leave the breeding area to find safety
within the colony.
Adult pairs may push another pair off of a mound and destroy the less dominant pair’s egg or
drop or abandon an egg. Intervention to retrieve eggs requires caregivers to analyze the genetic
value of the egg and the activity and stage of development of remaining eggs on surrounding
mounds. For example, an overdue egg may be left abandoned between mounds rather than disturb
birds near a hatching egg. Pairs given an artificial egg will incubate the “dummy” egg which pro-
vides opportunities for fostering eggs. When removing the egg from the mound, label it with
mound and egg numbers in pencil. Candle eggs and map out mound activity to record visual data
necessary for assessments. Pairs may build mounds that are cylindrical rather than volcano‐
shaped. Chicks may not be able to climb back on some mounds and become damp and chilled or
injured by adult flamingos. Nest area maintenance allows chicks to return to steep mounds. Add
buckets of dirt to build bridges between mounds or on one side of the mound while the eggs are
candled and prior to chick hatch. Adding water by misting birds or running a hose into channels